The Big East is expanding to twelve football playing members. Air Force, long mentioned as possible target for the Big East, will not be one of those twelve schools. According to Frank Schwab with the Colorado Springs Gazette, Air Force has decided it will not join the Big East as a football-only member, instead, choosing to stay a member of the Mountain West Conference. With the addition of Houston, SMU, and UCF as full members and Boise State and San Diego State as football-only members, the Big East's football membership for the future stands at ten. The conference still must add two more members to begin playing divisional play and play a conference championship game.
The Big East will still likely add Navy as a football-only member in the coming weeks and then will have to focus on finding a new school to finish this wave of expansion. It's possible that the Big East will once again try to work out a deal with BYU to add additional western members, or possibly bolster the basketball side of the conference by considering schools such as Memphis or Temple. East Carolina has also made it clear it would be interested in joining the Big East.
Stay tuned to Big East Coast Bias and in particular our Big East Expansion section for any additional news on potential new additions to the conference.